The Unbreakable Bond
by Vindictive88
Summary: The things brothers go through is what grants the strength to keep going. The four brothers are captured and tortured in front of each other. Only through their special bond can they survive the encounter.
1. The unbreakable Bond

Pain.  
It crashes upon the mind like waves upon the sand: Relentless, agonizing, demoralizing and terrifying. Such power found in the darkest part of life.

Torment.

It is the constant pressure of pain upon the body or emotions that obliterates hope, peace, and serenity.

Four brothers know these terms well. They know the white that eats at their consciousness. Yet they all fight to stay awake, even for one more minute longer.

Four brothers lay in the embrace of suffering. Watching each other through the cages that held them. Offering support in whatever way they can. Bound by chains, gaged by leather. They know pain. They know Torment. They know the torture they go through will not end.

**Red**…**Red**…**Red**…..

Blinks of colorful emotion flash inside each brother as they watch their fellow kin get tortured in front of their eyes. Each one fighting the bonds that holds them, not for themselves, but for their brothers.

The torment, the pain, the agony; they fight for each other. They live for each other. They will die for each other. Each brother fights for more time on the torture table. Each one trying to protect the others from the agony he is experiencing.

The screams tear at each brother, demoralizing and flashing a deeper red in their eyes. The splatter of blood on the ground, the cold mettle against the skin, the screams that pierce the throat; it is just too much to bear. Darkness embraces them all, one by one, falling to the dark peace of the unconscious.

Raphael woke up, aching in multiple places. His mind slowly remembers where he is. He is in pain. He is captured. He is as good as dead. Bound by thick mettle chains, he is unable to move. He looks up from his chains and sees his three fellow brothers, all bound like he is. Each one is caged to each wall of the room. The captures clearly wanted to separate them. He sees that two of them are still breathing, awake, and at least alive. He looks to his right and sees the hung head of blue:

His blue.

His brother.

His leader.

Leo.

Raph feels panic and tries to shout, but he is muffled. No coherent words escape his lips. He tries to move but the chains are unforgiving. They will not release him.  
"I see you are finally awake, my angry little turtle. Oh don't worry, he is alive… for now." Said a deep voice from the middle of the room. Raph looked at the dark figure clad in black, standing next to the torture table.  
"Yes, I know what your thinking. You're worried about your big brother. How cute. Well, you should be." The man replied in a menacing voice. Ice dripping from his voice, sending chills through Raph's spine. The man walked over to Leo and took off his gag, then harshly slapped him across the face. A moan escaped him, and a growl rumbled from Raphs' belly. He was getting angry. The man went to Donnie and removed his gag as well. As he was removing the gag from Mikey, he quickly tried to bite the man's fingers. The man jerked his hand back, just barley escaping the bite.  
"Oh we got a feisty one! Oh don't worry, we will work on that."

The man then walked over to Raph and also removed the gag. It felt great, but Raph hid any relief from the man. The man knelt down in front of Raph, and spoke with great care.  
"I want you to understand, that from here on out, you are in control. What I mean by that is this: you will decide which of your brothers shall be my next pet to play with."

"You can go jump down a sewer and drown, I wont choose any of my brothers to be your pet. If you want to play, release me and we can have all sorts of fun." Raph replied.

The man shook his head and tried again:

"Let me tell you in a better way. You choose one of your brothers or I will slowly kill one of them. I will make you watch. You will be the reason they die. So let me ask you again. Which one shall I be working on next?"

"Fine, me." Raph insisted. The other brothers clearly did not like the answer, as they all shouted for Raph to choose them. Mikey insisted it be he because he was sure he could handle the torture after having to listen to all of Donnie bad jokes. Donnie thought he should go because he was the least skilled at combat, and is more likely to hinder the team. Leo commanded raph to choose him because he was the leader. The man let them debate for a couple minutes before shouting for silence. The turtles all glared at him.

Mikey spoke up: "This is a family decision, it is very rude to interrupt us by shouting. You need to work on your manners."

The man replied:

"Well how about you let me teach you some manners about talking back to me?" He then walked over to Mikey and started to release the chains.  
"Don't even think about escaping. You all have been drugged with a neurotoxin. You have limited body control, but enhanced pain perception. I invented it myself," The man said. Before he could even undo the first chain Raph shouted from him to stop. The man took a step back and nodded. He reminded Raph he was in control and again asked which of his brothers he chooses.  
"Me, I choose me," Raph declared.

"It can't be you, now choose, or I will kill the one in the blue!" The man threatened.

Fear grasped Raph's heart. He couldn't choose. His brother he loved, his brother he would fight for. How could he choose any of them? Anger rose inside of him. At the situation, at being captured, at the twisted game the man was playing.

Red… Red….Red….

The emotions flashed again. Red meant anger, revenge, hate and malice. Red…..…Red…..Red…..

The flashed of emotion gave him hatred. It gave him power. He felts the chains on his body, he felt the dark cold air of the chamber, and he heard the heavy breathing of his brothers. He remembers the torture they already faced.

Red…RED….**RED! **

An explosion of fury and strength tore into Raph's muscles. The hatred burned into his blood, determination flooded his heart. His loyalty to his brothers was unwavering. He pushed with all his might, he twisted and turned and tried to break free of the chains. Raph was seeing only a red tunnel vision of hatred and revenge.

With a roar of fury he lunged at the man, screaming and struggling like a ferocious animal. The chains croaked and fought to restrain him. With a final roar Raph leapt forward!  
And the chains pulled hum back down. He lay there panting, hurting from the chains. He didn't understand. He had power; he had the anger, felt the strength that the red of hatred gave him. He should have been able to break free.  
The man looked at him and shook his head. He walked over to the table and pulled out a sword… upon closer look it was Leo's sword. He walked over and rested the blade on Leo's neck.

"I told you to choose, now you will face the consequences of your actions. Any last words for your brother?" The man rasped.

Fear tore through Raph. Tears started streaming down his eyes. Not, his brother, not Leo, not anyone. Not his brother Leo, who he had always fought with, Leo who he always defied, Leo, who he always protected.

"Leo… I love you, I love you so much! I am sorry I have failed you. I should have listened to you. Just know, that I have always loved you." Raph cried out.

"Touching, but at least your brother dies knowing he was loved." The man replied.

The man lifted the sword and stepped back. Getting ready for the killing strike.  
Raph looked into Leo's eyes, expecting to see anger, fear, and sorrow. Instead, he saw a deep love and admiration for Raph. No anger, just a proud look. A sincere look of love that only a brother could feel. Raph felt it burn inside him again.  
Red….Red….Red…..

The emotions hit him like a train. Looking at all his brothers, tears in their eyes, yelling at the man to stop.

Red….Red…Red….

He searched for the emotions to give him power… but he found no anger, no hatred, and no revenge. Instead he felt love. A deep-seated love that only the bond of brotherhood could bring. He felt the unbreakable loyalty, constant competition, and incredible protective instincts. He looked up at Leo with protection instead of anger at the man. He looked at the person who would fight for him while he was younger. He looked at the brother who always would have his back. He looked at his brother whom he idolized the most. He looked at the brother who he protected the most.

The power flooded through his veins. He roared and with a protectiveness born only from brotherhood he broke the chains. He stood up, the chains that were not completely shattered dangled over his shoulders.

The man stood their shocked, sword still raised.

"But but but you were in chains, you were tied up, you were weak!" The man stammered.

"Nothing is strong enough to contain the bond of brotherhood." Raph replied.

The Red ensnared Raph as he attacked the man who was trying to kill his brother.

The four brothers lay in the chamber, hugging each other. Telling Raph what a hothead he was, and that it took him long enough to free them. The man lay utterly destroyed in the corner. Not dead, but completely broken. Raph delivered no mercy to the man who threatened his brothers. The four brothers helped each other up, and walked out of the room and towards the home in which they foster their love. With the strength to keep fighting, that is born only from their brotherly bond.


	2. The Purple's Pain

Red…Red…Red…..

The pain shatters the door to the conscious mind, enflaming the neurons with tides of merciless agony. The sweat dropping down his brow does nothing to alleviate the burning sensation of the knife cutting his skin. The dark expression of joy spread across the man.  
The pain….The pain…..

It is a beast trampling over every defense set up to keep it caged. It runs rampage over the body with a passion born only from natural instinct.

Stop….. please stop….Stop

**STOP!**

Donnie woke up screaming. It took him a second to realize he was in his own bed. No man, no pain. The emotional scars have not healed. Donnie was beginning to think they never would.

Mikey burst through the door, swinging the toy sausages he always slept with like they were his Nunchaku. He looked around, half dazed, yet still moving fluidly. From between his legs slid Leo, completely awake and alert, ready for trouble. His two Ninjato in his hands, gleaming in the dim light, looked ready for a fight. Behind Mikey, stood a very dangerous looking Raph. Donnie almost laughed at the scene at hand.

"What's going on, are you ok?" Leo asked, clearly concerned.

"It was just another nightmare, nothing to worry about." Donnie replied.

"It sounded like someone was dying. I was ready to beat up anyone who dared mess with the smart and mighty Donatello!" Mikey proudly exclaimed.

"With your toy sausages? What did you do with your actual weapons?" Leo asked. Clearly irritated at his younger brother for once again, mishandling his weapons.

"Have you ever tried to eat bad sausage? It is terrible! In fact I'm thinking of asking sensei to teach me the art of Nunsausage!" Mikey dramatically spoke.

"Let me get this straight, you want to beat up people with sausages? Do I need to tell you how easy a sausage breaks? What will you make them do, eat it?" Raph chided

Looking mortified, Mikey replied:  
"If I force feed the bad guys with terrible sausage, I guarantee they will spend a week in the bathroom…."

"Well, now that we got that all sorted out." Leo interrupted. "Donnie, this is the fourth time this has happened. It's been over three weeks. What's going on?"

"Its nothing. The memories hurt, that's all. The scars… they don't go away. I just imagine how it could have been if we never got out…" Donnie reminisced.

"Hey now, we got out, and we are all alive. Get some sleep and we will talk about this in the morning ok buddy?" Leo replied.

As the turtles left for their rooms, Donnie watched with amazement. In the three weeks since the incident, not a single one has dared make fun of him or even discount his nightmares. Not only that, but he cant remember the last time Raph ever acted this way. He was kind and compassionate. Something that was very unusual for him. He lay down and let the thoughts of his brothers lead him to a peaceful sleep.

Red….Red…..Red…..

The pain attacked like a pack of starving wolves on an injured gazelle. Tearing away at his psyche like he was nothing but scrap paper. He felt the searing heat scald him. His scream doing nothing to release his pain, the pain that he was drowning in.

He turned his head and tried to look at his brothers, but he could not see them.  
He was alone.  
Isolated.

Afraid.

He needed his brothers. As the pain surged through his body, he convulsed with the desire to escape. His screams turned into one word as the dragged on:  
"LEOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

Donnie awoke in a deep sweat. The pain felt so real. It felt like it just happened. He heard the footsteps of someone running. He sat up and waited for one of his brothers to burst through the door. He did not wait long, as Mikey slammed open the door and rushed in. He was unable to stop his momentum before his foot landed on a meditation matt. Mikey slipped and crashed face first into the wall.  
Behind him rushed Leo and Raph, both clearly ready for any action, but neither had their weapons.

Donnie felt ashamed, they ran to him every time. Every single time he cried out, they would run to him. He felt blessed to have such a wonderful family.  
The brothers tried to console him, and one by one, left his room. Raph stayed for a second longer. Clearly he had something to say that he didn't want the others to hear.  
"Listen Donnie, you know how much I care about you. I am very glad you made it out, but this is getting ridiculous. We can't keep doing this for you. I am going to have to let you go if this keeps happening." Raph said in a soft tone.  
"… let me go?" Asked an astonished Donnie, "I'm sorry. It won't happen again, please don't say that. We are brothers. You guys could never leave me….. right?"  
"We will no longer call you brother, because brothers are strong. They don't let things like memories impede our bond." Raph replied.

Raph walked out of the room. Donnie sat there, scared, and afraid to fall asleep. He deeply loved his brothers, but what Raph said had hurt him deeply. How can he just say those things? Did he not feel what he did? Confusion and misery took over. Donnie broke down and sobbed quietly.

_Okay Donnie, time to think. Pity time is over._ Donnie thought to himself.

Donnie then remembered something that threw him off. Why would Raph say that? Sure Raph could be crude, mean, and insensitive, but he never would betray his brother. He would never leave. He would never call him weak. In fact, of all his brothers, Raph was the most loyal of them all. It was unwavering and immovable. Then why would Raph say that? If he took all the possibilities and removed the least likely, the only one that remains is most likely the solution. Then it hit him. Why would Raph say that if Donnie is his brother? The solution is simple.

He wouldn't. The only solution that made sense is that he wasn't Raph. The more he thought, the more clear it became. Each of his brothers was close to their normal personalities, yet each one seemed off. Mikey was clumsy at times, but he was the fastest at catching himself. He could have easily turned his slip into a summersault and not get hurt. Leo would never have waited for the next morning to sort the problem out. He would have sat there with Donnie all night if he needed. In fact, all of his brothers would have. His brothers were not there.

The pain he felt, it all made sense. It felt so real, because it WAS real. Terror crept through Donnie's spine as he realized the cold hard truth:  
He was in captivity once again.

Leo awoke again in the night. He could feel Donnie somewhere. His brother was out there, alone. He had been taken three weeks ago, and not a single brother had wasted any time. They scoured for him day and night, looking for any information they can. Raph had been tireless, going days without any sleep, pure determination keeping hi going. Even more then raph, Mikey was distraught. Although all the brothers had a very deep bond with each other, Mikey and Donnie had a very special one. Mikey had been found surrounded by unconscious bodies on multiple occasions. He had gone from gang to gang looking for information. Punishing anyone who would not tell him information, regardless if they had any. There was nothing he wouldn't do to find his brother.

All the brothers had been extra close after the first capture incident. They had all slept in the same room, spent every waking moment with each other. They were recovering by using each other as the crutches the needed. The brotherly bond slowly removing the emotional scars, and building love in its place. Unfortunately, Donnie had decided to take a walk one day, never to return. The brothers had been in full panic mode. They had torn their home apart, looking for any sign of were Donnie had been. Mikey was a wreck; he made no jokes, no smiles, and the weirdest of all, he was completely serious. It had taken its toll on Mikey, and it is what led him to find every gang member ever known in the city. He had walked straight into the purple dragons lair and asked politely for information. When Leo had found out were Mikey had went, he quickly grabbed Raph and went to rescue his brother from his own stupidity. The scene they walked in on could not be described with words. Bodies were everywhere. Hanging from the rails, piled on top of each other, and even standing against the wall. Every single one of them knocked unconscious. Mikey had one hand around a purple dragons throat, and had lifted him off the ground. He had a twisted smile on his face as he asked in a rather polite way, for information about Donnie.  
Leo had never seen Mikey like this. He wasn't sure what caused it, but he knew one thing: Never take away Mikeys family. Leo felt a strange sense of pride for Mikey. He had never been super serious in training, but his pure determination to find Donnie had been unrivaled.

Leo himself had been trying hard, but he himself had still been recovering. He had gone through the most torture of them all. He had fought for every second longer, to try and stay on that table so none of his brethren had to. He still felt torn inside. His emotions were scrambled. He didn't know what to think. For once he was glad that someone else was in charge. He would gladly take a step back and let Mikey lead, he wasn't sure he even had a choice at this point.

Donnie had discovered there was a circle, a repetition, a cycle that he was stuck inside. He would be physically tortured in his "dreams" but Donnie knew he was actually feeling the pain. He may have thought it was dreams, but it wasn't. Whoever these people were that were doing this, had extensive knowledge of the brain. Donnie had decided that he was stuck inside some type of virtual reality, or rather, an artificial world. His brain saw his brothers, heard them speak, and even felt their touch, but he knew they weren't the real ones. He knew their personalities were off. Most importantly though, Donnie knew one thing:  
If he could not find a way to break through this false world, he would never see his real family again.

The torture started escalating every time. Its almost as if they knew he had figured it out. His "dreams" no longer contained things he had already gone through, but knew things that he had never experienced. He felt the terrible pain crush his thoughts. His mind was garbled and numb. He could barley think. He wished for his brothers. He missed them; he wanted to see them just one more time before he died. His will was breaking; he didn't know how much he could handle. With his body screaming from the pain, and his heart breaking from his loneliness, he screamed for his brothers. He screamed for Mikey.

Mikey woke up from his sleep. A deep fire awoken inside of him, he knew what to do. He walked into Leos room and told him to get up and get ready. Even as Leo asked questions, Mikey walked out, a dangerous aura around him. Raph was just as puzzled as Leo, but not even Raph dared get in his brothers way. He was on a warpath, and Leo felt bad for whoever got in the way. Nobody was going to stop him from finding Donnie. 

Nobody. 


	3. The Price of Freedom

Pain is the whip, and we are the slaves. We all dance to the music that is played, or suffer the consequences. It is a terrible curse to have it pressed upon someone. To have pain forced upon someone as a punishment. It breaks a person.  
It breaks anyone who endures it for so long.  
Donnie struggles to breathe, he grasps at the air in attempts to stop the pain.  
It is unrelenting to his screams, to his voice, to his will.  
Donnie losses the will to fight.  
Donnie starts praying for death.  
_

Mikey runs through the brisk air. He feels his brother out there. Feels his pain.

Thoughts pound his head, breaking every mental barrier put up.

His brother was out their suffering. His Donnie was being tortured.

The emotional pain cracked across him like a whip.  
Mikey drove himself harder with every surge of emotional pain. He ran harder, faster, and doggedly. He would not quite on Donnie. He knew who had Donnie, and he was afraid to go back. He fought his body, forcing it onward.

For the man in the black clothes had once again taken his brother. 

Behind Mikey, Raph and Leo kept pace. Both of them looked as worried as Mikey, but they both were fighters, pure determination on their face. They would not leave Donnie, they would not stop until he was safe at home. They ran through the night with reckless abandon. Not afraid of being spotted. All the mattered was Donnie.  
_Donnie hated himself.

He wanted to die.

He embraced the idea of death.

He was alone.

He was afraid.

He was already dead.

His lungs kept breathing, his heart kept beating, his brain kept thinking, yet Donnie was simply surviving. To be alive, there truly must be a will to live. To live is to be alive. Without the desire to live, then there is no life.  
So Donnie was already dead.

He felt the pain, and wondered when it would break him. The physical torture, followed by the fake dreams played through his mind. He tried to fight it. He tried to escape the fantasy world that some machine has tricked his mind into thinking. Yet the more he fought, the worse the pain got. It was like they knew when he tried to find the exit of the world. Whoever "they" were, he was determined to let them win. The pain was too much for Donnie.

Donnie could not tell the passage of time, so when he wondered how long he had been in pain, the answer was always the same.  
To long.

So when he finally felt his body giving up, being overrun with his intense desire for death, he felt relived. Slowly he felt his heart beat more irregularly. He felt his thoughts floating through the air.  
Donnie let himself smile, as he finally would be leaving this hell he was in.  
_

Mikey felt a strong pain through his heart. It was growing stronger, but Mikey knew what it was from.  
Donnie was dying, he was giving up hope, but more importantly, he was forsaking his brother. Mikey could not bear it. He screamed a long terrifying roar of anger.  
The power that anger brought seeped through his muscles. He doubled his speed, and felt his lungs increase the oxygen.  
The power of anger was truly amazing. He finally realized why Raph was so strong.

As the brothers approached the building, they felt no fear. They would not loose, they would not fail, and they would not let Donnie die. With the chemistry built only from years of training together, they split off and infiltrated the building without speaking a word.

Thump-Thump.

Thump-Thump.

Thump…_Thump…..

Thump…..Thump….

The beat gets slower with every attempt.  
Donnie feels his heart grow weaker. His brain struggles to find the oxygen it needs. As death creeps up on Donnie, he starts to remember his past.  
He remembers Splinter teaching him to use his Bo-staff. How he would always smile and be gentle with Donnie no matter how many times he messed up. He remembered the pranks he used to pull with Mikey when they were young, and how they would successfully pin it on Raph and Leo. Donnie remembered his first fight, his bruises, and the exhilaration from the win.

He remembered Mikey getting lost in the sewers when he was only seven. He remembered how splinter paired up Leo and Raph and had them search the upper side of the city sewers. Splinter went with Donnie.  
He remember splinter holding him when Donnie cried because he was scared for Mikey. He missed his brother. Splinter had so softly spoken to him, and encouraged him to never give up. He remember asking his master why he should never give up, because there was not hope in finding Mikey in the Sewers that were so big.

He still remembers how the words hit him like a punch to the face. Splinters words echoed in his head:

"My son, do you ever think Mikey would give up on you? Of all your brothers, he is the most determined of them all. When even Leo would give up, Mikey never will. You all know your strengths on the team, but Mikey has one that is unspoken. He will fight even when it is hopeless, because nothing in the world will stop him from living his life with his brothers. He loves you guys on a level that I did not know possible from such a young age. That my son, is why you must never give up"

Donnie had immediately stopped crying, and with a profound determination, they hunted for Mikey. It had taken over 20 more hours to find him, bud eventually they did.  
Mikey was traped under a massive fallen pipe. He was trying to improve his skateboarding skills, and had accidently managed to bring the pipe on top of his leg.  
When Splinter, using the strength of a scared father, removed the pipe, Mikey had started crying. Donnie had asked him why he was crying.  
Mikey was not crying from the pain, he was crying because he was happy. Even as the hours had passed, Mikey had not given up. He had known that no matter what Donnie would not leave him behind. Mikey had believed that Donnie would search for him even if the others stopped.

Mikey had hugged him, and cried into his shoulder, telling Donnie how scarred he was, but that he knew his brothers love for him would not fail. He told Donnie, that he was his best friend for life, and that he could never bear to loose him.

Donnie snapped away from the memory. His heart was still slowing, despite the intense emotions of the memory. That was when Donnie realized that he was giving up on Mikey. The brother that would never give up on him, the brother who had saved his life time and time again, the brother who had even jumped in front of a sword swing and been seriously injured, just to protect Donnie.  
He would not quite on his best friend.  
With a determination to believe in his brother, Donnie found the will to fight.  
Not for himself, but for his family. For what had felt like weeks, the white of pain had been eating at him. Now Donnie starts eating at the white.

Three ninjas broke into a room at the same time, quickly dispatching any guards in their way. The three turtles all stared at the center of the room, looking at Donnie.  
Donnie lay perfectly still on a torture table, tied up, with a strange machine over his head. Wires extended into a helmet that was connected to Donnie's head.

They shook at Donnie, yelled his name even, but he would not wake up.  
Leo tried to remove the helmet but was stopped by a voice over a microphone in the room.  
"I would not do that, unless you wish him dead."  
It was the man in black. The turtles looked, but found only a microphone on the ground, he was transmitting from somewhere else.

"I invented this myself… You see, what the machine does is trap you in your own memories, memories that we can change and manipulate to our will. The machine uses extreme magnetic force fields to interrupt the neurons of the brain. We then tell the Machine which parts of the brain to stimulate, and we can change any memory we see fit. The beauty of it is that the person does not know it, but can still feel pain. No matter what we do, the person will be trapped in there. No amount of physical pain can release them from their imaginary place. Only the Donnie can get himself out. He must be able to face his biggest fear, and also realize he is trapped in his own altered memories." The man laughed at the cruelness of the whole thing.

Mikey grabbed Donnie's hand and whispered slowly into his ear. Continuously telling his brother he loves him, not to leave him, to fight the pain, and misery, and to come back to their world. Even as the minutes tick by, Leo and Raph started searching room by room for the man in black. Mikey never moved from Donnie's side. He kept whispering and supporting Donnie, not even sure if he could hear him.  
_

Donnie fought the white. The more he tried to escape the world, the more the pain intensified, but instead of shying away, Donnie fought harder. He felt someone holding his hand, although he could not tell whom. He felt the warmth of their skin, and he could almost recognize who it was. The pain doubled at that moment, cracking its whip across the nerves of his body. He felt his body convulse with pain, but he then felt a warm body press against his. Arms wrapped around his body. Someone was hugging him; it was like someone was trying to stop his body convulsions. He could even feel what felt like water dripping onto his body. Even as the pain continued, he felt the warmth and tight grip of the body.

He again had a flashback to Mikey getting lost. He remembered the hug, how Mikey had pressed close against Donnie, shaking with fear and chills. Crying to his brother.  
Donnie realized who was hugging him.  
With a mental power brought only by the desire to see his family, he threw himself at the white. He yelled at the white.  
Not screaming in pain, but yelling a name in determination.  
Mikey!

Mikey!

Mikey!

With a roar of hope, he threw his entire mental ability at crushing the whiteness.  
It did not break; it did not crack, for the whiteness was like rubber. It bounced back all of Donnie's attacks.  
Donnie then saw something new, a bright orange spot in the white that surrounded it. Instead of mentally fighting his way through it, he simply let himself think of orange. He realized that the white was not a door he could break open, but it was a gate that could change. He thought more and more of Mikey, of his brother. He imagined Mikey holding him now. The white struggled to stay white. The orange blot spread until the white was struggling to maintain a single dot.  
_Mikey _Donnie thought, _don't ever leave me. I love you, stay with me. You are my best friend. _

The white dissipated, and Donnie felt a strange reorientation. He opened his eyes to see Mikeys head on his shoulder. Tears streaming down his face, Mikey was whispering into Donnie's ear:

"Come back to me brother, we need you with us"  
Donnie slowly felt his body control come back to him. He could tell he was released from whatever had trapped him. Mikey, pushed himself up, as he realized Donnie was moving. Mikey ripped off the helmet and untied his bonds. Mikey then grabbed Donnie and pulled him to his feet with strength that Donnie did not remember Mikey ever had.  
As Mikey put an arm around his shoulder, he supported Donnie as he walked. Mikey like always, had never given up on Donnie. Even now, he remembered back to the time Mikey was lost. Things may have changed, but the emotions were the same. As the hobbled from room to room, they stumbled across Leo and Raph. They huddled over a giant folder full of paper. As the noticed Donnie they ran to him and hugged him.

Leo, still holding the giant folder, decided that they should go home.

Once again the brothers walked out of that cursed building, relying on their brotherly love to support them. Mikey supported Donnie all the way back home, just like Donnie did when he found Mikey 11 years ago. Some bonds cannot be severed, even by pain. Pain may be a taskmaster, but love sets even the hopeless free. Donnie smiled to himself, and thought of how lucked he was to have such an amazing, loving family.

**(This next part is just a small lead in to the next chapter. Thank you for your support, and I hope you enjoy it!)**

Leo hobbled into the door. They had just gotten home. They had successfully recovered Donnie, but Leo looked shaken. As he hugged his brother's goodnight and went to bed, he started shaking. He didn't tell his brothers that the helmet had stabbed him with a needle when he tried to remove it from Donnie.  
As he drifted off to sleep, he felt a strange sensation of fear.  
That night, the memories of the torture attacked him, and once again, he experienced the pain and anguish of torture. Whatever had stabbed him seemed to have caused these memories to be constantly pulled up.

Donnie may have his freedom, but it seemed to have cost Leo his peace of mind. The memories tore away at him whenever he went to sleep. Slowly, Leo began to wonder if he was going to ever forget.

But the thing about remembering, is that you don't forget.


End file.
